DoD News

News Article

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2005  Improvised-explosive-device attacks in Iraq killed four U.S soldiers and wounded 93 Iraqi civilians May 23. Elsewhere, scores of terrorists responsible for such bombings were detained.

Four members of the 155th Brigade Combat Team, an Army unit attached to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), were killed when an IED detonated near their vehicle in Haswa. The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. In Baghdad, 93 Iraqi civilians were wounded when a vehicle carrying an IED exploded in front of a restaurant and apartment building, damaging nearby shops and vehicles, officials said today. Iraqi police cordoned off the area and began treating injured civilians. The wounded were taken to local hospitals.

In other news from Iraq, Operation Squeeze Play netted 143 suspected terrorists, including foreign fighters, in its second day of operations. The operation, which includes coalition and a wide variety of Iraqi forces, began May 22 and is designed to reduce car-bomb attacks and capture those responsible. A total of 428 suspected terrorists have been detained over the last 48 hours, military officials in Baghdad reported today.

In other Baghdad operations, Iraq forces captured nine suspected terrorists today, including four specifically targeted for their involvement in terrorist activities.

Among those captured were two suspected of planning and conducting attacks in the Baghdad area, the leader of a terror cell called Secret Islamic Army, a known terrorist financier, and two linked to multiple kidnappings and car bombings. Another captured suspect was found with $570,000 Iraqi dinar, $415 in U.S. currency, and six passports.

Elsewhere in Iraq, U.S. soldiers from 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, of the Army's 1st Armored Division, nabbed a terrorist disguised as a woman on May 23. The man was caught hiding among nine women when soldiers searched a house in Haddi. Tests showed the terrorist had recently handled explosives, and the soldiers detained him for questioning.